South Korea’s Kospi sinks, triggering circuit breaker amid broader Asia market rout

The kingdom had offered roughly 4.6 million barrels via a pipeline to Yanbu on the Red Sea, Bloomberg reported.

Oil prices dipped after the news, with Brent futures trading up 16.13% at $107.71 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures at 13.74% higher at 103.47.

Both benchmarks were nearly at $120 per barrel earlier. The surge comes after major Middle Eastern oil producers, including Kuwait, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, cut oil production following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

South Korea’s Kospi triggered its second circuit breaker in four sessions on Monday, leading a broader regional sell-off as oil prices neared $120 per barrel for the first time since 2022.

The index plunged over 8%, triggering a 20 minute suspension in trading from 10.31 a.m. local time. The index was last down 5.96% and closed at 5,251.87.

Heavyweight Samsung Electronics plunged 7.81%, while chip counterpart SK Hynix shed 9.52%.

A circuit breaker was activated last week when the benchmark tumbled more than 12% Wednesday to record its worst single-day decline.

South ‌Korean ruling party lawmaker Kim Yong-bae reportedly said that the country’s chip industry is concerned that the Iran conflict will lead to higher energy costs and ​prices.

Semiconductor production could be disrupted if materials like helium cannot be secured from the Middle East, Kim told Reuters.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 tumbled 5.2% to 52,728.72, falling below the 53,000 mark for the first time since Feb. 6, while the Topix was down 3.8% and closed at 3,575.84.

Softbank Group Corp was among the largest losers on the index, falling 9.81%, while chip-related stocks such as Advantest and Lasertec was also down over 11% and 8%, respectively.

Chinese markets saw smaller losses, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng index falling 1.33% in its last hour of trade, and the CSI 300 on mainland China down 0.97%, closing at 4,615.46.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 pared earlier losses to fall 2.85% and closed at 8,599.

U.S. President Donald Trump, however, posted on Truth Social that a gain in “short term oil prices” was a “very small price to pay” for destroying Iran’s nuclear threat.

“Only fools would think differently!” Trump added.

U.S. stock futures also tumbled on higher oil prices, with Dow Jones Industrial Average futures down over 800 points or 1.75% lower.

S&P 500 futures were down 1.59%, while Nasdaq-100 futures slid 1.6%.

— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.